Joe Satriani has announced that his next album, Shapeshifting, will come out on April 10.
He just released the first single from the LP, “Nineteen Eighty,” which is an homage to Eddie Van Halen, containing plenty of finger-tapping and melody.
Satriani used an Eddie Van Halen signature phaser pedal as a tribute to his guitar hero. Satch says, “I’ve always been a huge fan of Eddie Van Halen. In my mind, he just crystallized that era. The late Seventies and early Eighties, he kind of saved rock guitar. So that’s what I would have been doing.”
Listen to “Nineteen Eighty” below. For more about his upcoming album, Shapeshifting, visit his website, Satriani.com.
“The power and virtuosity that Eddie displays on every record is staggering. His timing and his tone make him so much fun to listen to. The first time I heard VH on the radio I stood up and cheered, because I felt that Eddie was doing what so many of my generation were trying to do. He was bringing rock guitar to a new, exciting level, and doing it with musical integrity.”
—Joe Satriani,
From the book, Eddie Van Halen, by Neil Zlozower